Harry Roque bids social media (temporary) goodbye

After being slammed by rabid pro-Duterte online supporters for defendingjournalists, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque bid goodbye to the task of managing his own social media accounts.

Roque, on Wednesday, November 16, posted on Facebook that he was leaving the social media world for now.

“Good-bye for now! I would like to thank everyone for being my friend on FB, twitter and Instagram. Effective tomorrow, I tun over my social media accounts to a Palace professional who, I’m sure, would do a better job at informing you about my daily activities,” wrote Roque.

He told Rappler that his social media accounts will be managed by a full-time staff of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).

As any active social media user would no doubt feel, Roque felt sad to be relinquishing the reins of his accounts.

“I do feel a bit melancholic since I have always personally handled my social media accounts. But since I ceased to have my own identity when I became the President’s spokesperson, I do understand the limitations now,” he said.

Definitely among the people who will miss Roque’s personal handling of his account are some reporters who counted on his fast Tweeting and posting of photos to confirm certain details about President Rodrigo Duterte’s events.

For instance, Roque took to Twitter and Facebook to first announce that Duterte was skipping the APEC 2017 Gala Dinner in Da Nang, Vietnam.

He also posted several selfies of him with world leaders during the APEC and ASEAN Summits.

But Roque is no stranger to social media errors that come about with personally handling ones accounts.

In a selfie with International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, Roque mistakenly identified her as “Agnes Legarda.” He corrected the error immediately after being told by a reporter.

While Roque realizes the wisdom of a professional handling his social media accounts, there are examples of officials flouting this norm.

The most notable example is United States President Donald Trump who continues to post his uncensored thoughts on his personal Twitter account @realDonaldTrump even as the White House manages his official @POTUS account.